


The Girl Who Wanted To Reach For The Stars

by MilaReyloJennings



Category: Logan Lucky (2017), Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Acrobatics, Alternate Universe - Circus, Badass Rey, Cauliflower Plans (Logan Lucky), Clyde Logan is a Sweetheart, Clyde is married and in love, Crossover, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Smut, F/M, Finn is a Skywalker (Star Wars), Mutual Pining, POV Clyde Logan, POV Original Female Character, Performing Arts, Rey Needs A Hug, Rey is a mystery, Romance, Skywalkers are circus artists, Soft Ben Solo, Story within a Story, reylo is endgame
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-28
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:01:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26703379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MilaReyloJennings/pseuds/MilaReyloJennings
Summary: Clyde Logan, his wife Heathyr and their children are traveling with the Cauliflower, Clyde's spaceship. They're paying a visit to Clyde's distant relatives, the Skywalkers, who opened a circus famous through all the galaxy on the planet Takodana.While their travel has just began, the little Mellody asks her mother to tell her how she and Clyde met Rey, Ben Solo-Skywalker's wife, but also a fathier rider and an acrobat.So Heathyr tells her the story of the girl who wanted to reach for the stars... And succeeded.
Relationships: Clyde Logan/Original Character(s), Rey & Ben Solo, Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 11
Kudos: 6
Collections: PL LOVE FEST for MyJediLife





	1. A modern fairy tale

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MyJediLife](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyJediLife/gifts).



> Yes, you've read well, Clyde Logan is happily married with children! This is my special gift to my friend :) And yes he's also related to the Skywalkers because... Why not?
> 
> Beta by LadyRhi & Missy|Notquitegreylo <3
> 
> Dear Ms Logan: sorry it's only a wip! But you've got so much love to receive I'm sure it'll let me some time to finish this <3

“Hey kids, are you ready? We have a long way to go to Takodana, and I don’t want to be late to the show!”

Heathyr Logan runs around the house she shares with her husband, Clyde, and their two children, Jamie and Mellody.

”Mamma! I can't find my Teddy!” Mellody, five years old, suddenly whines, a little tear shining in her deep brown eyes.

Clyde intervenes with his deep and reassuring voice,”No worries. Teddy’s in tha’ ship darlin’! Ya’ll find it there! Wanna take somethin’ else? Yer colorin’ book? som’ toy?”

It instantly calms the little girl whose pretty face lights up with the lovely smile that her parents adore. Mellody asks her father to take her colouring book and her favorite toy, a doll named Kira, while her mother puts a pair of cute pink shoes on her tiny feet. Jamie, who’s seven, is old enough to dress himself without help, and has already gathered the things he wants to bring on the floor, where his parents can find them without needing to ask.

As Clyde still expresses his concerns, though, such as his son being sufficiently bundled-up against the cold, Heathyr gazes tenderly at her husband. He’s still the tall and brawny man he was ten years ago when she met him. He does now have a small beer belly, due to years of working behind the bar of The Duck Tape, and a few grey hairs amongst his luscious black locks. His goatee is threaded through with silver, as well, but except for these small details of no importance, Clyde Logan is still, at forty-four, the seductive, tender, and attentionate man she fell in love with.

Of course, he’s not perfect - _who is, though?_ \- but he’s hers, and she’s his.

“Mum,” Mellody asks as Heathyr checks if they have enough water and snacks for a long space trip. “Will there be animals in tha’ show?”

Jamie rolls his eyes and blows on a lock of dark hair that keeps dropping in his left eye, since the boy refuses to get a proper haircut; he wants his hair mid-length, just like his dad! He moans a gruff answer to his little sister with a Southern accent almost as strong as their father’s,“We already told ya, that Skywalkers, they have fo’ty fathiers,”

“I didn’t rememba’...” Mellody admits before shrugging.

“Poe Dameron’s also got a bantha named Dhasyn,” Heathyr adds while she gently pushes her children outside, and looks for the keys to their apartment in her handbag.

“Nope, Dhasyn don’t work no more,” says Clyde, who overheard the conversation. ”Poe sent her ta’ Italy City for a nice retreat, ya know?”

“Ah yeah. Right, you told me the other day…” Heathyr replies absently as she locks the door of the flat they have above The Duck Tape.

The little family boards their ship and gets ready for takeoff, knowing it will be slow but shaky due to the age of the _Cauliflower_ , as Clyde named his brother, Jimmy’s wedding gift. _Cauliflower_ was the code name that Jimmy and he’d had back in the good old days. It was their code for “Let’s get in trouble,” and it’d taken them on a couple of wild rides. Since Clyde had settled down and founded a family with Heathyr, though, the only wild ride that Clyde accepts to do now is with his family on this ship.

“Jamie, Mel, are ya buckled up?” Clyde asks before pushing the starter, always anxious at the idea that one of the children might not be safely installed when he launches the _Cauliflower_ into the sky. The ship leaves the ground only once they both reassure him.

“When are we arrivin’, Mama?” Mellody asks in a high-pitched voice, her eyes riveted on the large window through which she quietly observes their entrance into the infinity of the deep, blue space.

“In a bit more than two hours, sweetheart,” Heathyr answers quietly.

The little girl starts whining, but she’s immediately cut off by her brother, who snaps impatiently, “That’ll be even longer if ya don’t stop cryin’! Stop naw, or I thraw yar Teddy out in space down there!”

Terrified for her stuffed best friend, Mellody sniffs and holds Teddy against her.

“Are you okay, darlin’?” Clyde asks Heathyr, concerned with his wife’s sudden silence. “You seem worried or somethin’. Wanna talk ‘bout it?”

“I’m not worried, Clyde. Not at all,” Heathyr promises him. “I’m so happy to see your family again, after all this time! Especially Finn and Ben, even this old dragon, Leia! Most of all, though, I’m happy to see Rey. I know she’s not really family, but…”

“She’s married ta’ Ben, so she’s family! Like ya,” Clyde interrupts her with a firm tone. His free hand seized hers when he said these two last words, and Heathyr replies to this caring gesture with a loving and grateful smile.

“Every time I think of where we found her, and of what she’s achieved since then, it makes me emotional,” Heathyr confesses, then adds, “I can’t believe their twins are the same age as our Mellody, can you, darling?”

“Nope,” Clyde admits, focused on the space road as he avoids a field of asteroids.

Mellody, who heard the discussion, asks with curiosity: “How you met Auntie Rey? She was not an acrobat in tha’ circus with Dad’s family?”

“We say: ‘How did you meet,’ not ‘how you met.’” Jamie groans. He then asks his parents if he can watch the new episodes of his favorite TV series, and puts on his headphones after they say yes.

“I could tell you, but it’s a long story, honey,” Heathyr warns her daughter.

“Pleaaaase!” Mellody begs, as she looks at her mother with her most pleading eyes. “We have time, mum!”

Clyde smirks and points out, “She got a point. Ya’re the best ta’ tell stories, darlin’... I’ll help ya with tha’ details if ya need me to,” he adds gently.

Heathyr sighs, as she knows she met the young Rey a long time ago, and she’s surely forgotten some important things, but her daughter counts on her. As she just said at the ripe old age of five years old, there’s plenty of time to tell a story, after all. This one is definitely a _good_ story, and for the details she doesn't remember… she can always improvise!

“Ok. Are you seated comfortably, honey?”

The little girl nods. She’s obviously more than ready.

“Perfect. Since it’s a story, we should give it a title; let’s call it, _The girl who wanted to reach for the stars,_ ” Heathyr started. She paused for a few seconds to decide how she should start, but soon smiled and began:

“Once upon a time, your father and I were on our way to Takodana, where as you already know, the Skywalkers - Dad’s family - had opened the Skywalker Circus. Due to a mechanical problem on the _Cauliflower_ , we had to stop on a very unpleasant, desertic, and hot planet called Jakku. We resumed our trip as soon as we could ‘cause it was really an almost hostile place. So, we were ready to take off and leave this horrible planet when we met a young woman who wanted us to take her to the next spaceport. She was all by herself, and she looked so young and lost! Of course, we took her with us. She then told us she wanted to go to Chandrila, and that her name was Rey.

“Rey who?” Mellody asks, already intrigued by the mysterious heroine.

“Oh,” Heathyr first replies, surprised by the question, then smiles. “She was… Rey. Just Rey.”


	2. Rey of Jakku

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Heathyr's story starts on the planet Jakku, where she and Clyde had to land the Cauliflower due to a technical problem preventing the ship from flying.
> 
> There, they met Unkar Plutt, the dishonest junk boss, and Rey, a young scavenger who hitched rides through the Galaxy when she didn't work to make a living. 
> 
> Nothing had prepared Heathyr and Clyde to welcome a passenger on board, yet after she got into a fight with Unkar Plutt and his goons, Rey didn't have much of a choice..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter we learn how Clyde and Heathyr met Rey, as well as who was Clyde's mother and her connection with the Skywalkers...
> 
> Thanks a lot to Missy|Notquitegreylo for the beta!

It was a beautiful day when Heathyr and Clyde Logan left West Virginia, their home planet, to visit a branch of Clyde’s family that Heathyr was yet to meet, even though she had been married to him for a bit more than a year: the Skywalkers, known in practically all the corners of the Galaxy for their magical circus shows. 

It was supposed to be a two and a half hour trip, with a break for lunch that Clyde had planned for on the lovely Naboo, his late mother’s home world. Fate seemed to have decided that the couple’s plans for a romantic lunch on Lake Paonga would have to wait, as a warning beep informed them that the _Cauliflower_ had a serious technical issue while they were passing upon the desertic planet of Jakku, obliging Clyde to proceed to an emergency landing.

After twenty minutes of sweating and swearing under the burning sun of the driest and saddest planet Heathyr and Clyde had ever seen, Clyde managed to access the problematic piece and to disconnect it from the electric circuit of the ship. As it turned out, the piece was irremediably broken. A local advised them to walk towards a place called Niima Outpost and find a certain Unkar Plutt, a junk boss who collected various pieces of mechanics found in abandoned ships and would probably sell them the one they needed. By chance, Unkar Plutt’s office tent was not far away from where they landed. Heathyr and Clyde just had to walk for ten minutes before getting there.

Twenty minutes later, Clyde and Unkar Plutt, a greasy little man whose dishonesty was all over his face, rotten by probably too much boozing, were still arguing about the price of the piece when a young woman dragging a dusty speeder engine entered the tent. Asking for Plutt in a language that Heathyr couldn’t identify, she was probably asked to wait by Unkar’s goon, since she quietly stood by her engine and waited for Clyde and Unkar’s intense discussion to end.

She didn’t have to wait long, as Clyde angrily concluded the conversation with the creepy gangster barely two minutes later:

“Oh, fack off ya’ bantha poodoo!”

As Heathyr gave Clyde an interrogating look, he pointed his prosthetic arm in Unkar’s direction, still fulminating, and moaned in an explanation punctuated by multiple groanings and various curse words. Basically, Unkar wanted Clyde to pay him twice as much as what the piece was really worth, which Clyde refused to. 

“But the _Cauliflower_?” Heathyr whimpered. 

Clyde threw an intense look at her where a light of excitement was shining and asked curtly: “ya said _Cauliflowe’_?” 

But his wife rolled her eyes as she understood that Clyde wanted to get into trouble, and quickly replied with a soothing voice: “No, no, no, Clyde, I meant the ship! We’ve got to repair the ship, I don’t want any fight!”

* * *

Heathyr takes a break from her story to make a slightly ashamed confession: “I must say at this time I had very little interest in spaceship mechanics, so unfortunately I can’t remember today what that piece was that your dad needed so much.” She turns to Clyde and asks him: “Do you remember, honey?” 

But Clyde replies: “nope,” shrugs and adds: “ I fixed tha’ ship so many times! I didn’t keep tha record of all the pieces of junk I had ta replace.”

“It’s okay, dad! Was it tha’ gal Rey?”

Heathyr smiles, nods, then dives back into the past.

* * *

  
Heathyr was tired, the atmosphere on the gloomy planet of Jakku was crazy hot, dry and barely sufferable. She wanted nothing more than to resume their trip to Takodana, but Clyde was stubborn and walked towards the _Cauliflower_ , as he decided all of a sudden to repair what was broken as best he could. _They didn’t want to give in to Unkar’s greed, but what other choice did they have?_ Heathyr wondered anxiously. 

Her only desire at this instant was to hug her husband, gently rub his long hairs between her fingers, and feel the softness of his lips against hers. All she could do instead was to sadly watch him walk away from her at a fast pace. 

What was planned to be a fabulously romantic weekend was turning into a living nightmare. And even though Heathyr was not especially superstitious, she started to fear that calling the ship _Cauliflower_ might have jinxed its owners! 

As there was nothing to distract her, Heathyr found a piece of paper to use as a fan in her handbag. She sat on a metal box that was just put there on the sand, and started looking at the young woman who was now in the middle of a discussion with Unkar Plutt, mixing the Universal Language and this local idiom that Heathyr didn’t understand. The tone quickly went up a notch as with Clyde a few minutes earlier, when it appeared that Rey had scavenged the speeder engine for Unkar but was refused the price she asked for it. At least, that’s what she gathered from the crumbs that Heathyr could get from their conversation.

At first, the young woman had given her the impression that she was fragile and soft, as her thin body wrapped in comfortable light-coloured clothes, and her pretty and innocent dark haired face seemed to give away. Heathyr reckoned she was probably in her early twenties. Only the tan that marked her traits, as well as her very determined look and demeanor, revealed that behind her youthful appearance, the scavenger had probably spent more than a couple of days working assiduously on this arid planet to make a living. 

The way she spoke to Unkar, unfeared and unimpressed, was a clear indication that the young woman took no crap from anyone, even if they were a ruthless low-life thug like Unkar Plutt. 

Yet Heathyr was unprepared for what happened next; shocked and indignated, she saw Unkar’s goon attack the young scavenger with a knife, prompted by a simple hand sign from his boss. She quickly realized that the girl was probably on her guard though, as she immediately stepped back to avoid his strike and violently kicked his nut sack when he tried once again to take her down, leaving him howling and doubled over in two with his hands holding his painful private parts. Just as Heathyr thought the girl was safe, another thug came up behind her and grabbed her in an attempt to throw her on the floor. With an incredible strength unexpected from such a frail body, the girl roared like an enraged tiger, bent over and managed to lift him and throw him upon her shoulder. The goon fell on the floor with a scream of surprise, echoed by a cry of pain when the young scavenger kicked him in the guts.

From there, it all went very fast. Under Heathyr’s terrorized yet fascinated eyes, the girl seized the knife that her first aggressor had dropped on the floor and pointed it directly on Unkar Plutt’s throat before he had the chance to run away. The disgusting thug let out a furious groan and probably a rosary of insults, but didn’t dare to move a finger as his young adversary kept the knife close to his throat. She was as serious as she was determined.

“Gimme my fucking money, Plutt!”, the fearless scavenger howled ferociously. Far gone was the soft looking girl who had previously entered the tent. Now there was only an enraged and fierce woman who wanted her due. Considering the scum that Unkar Plutt was, Heathyr had no intention of blaming her!

“What tha’ fack’ is happenin’ here?” Clyde’s loud voice asked behind his wife, who jumped in surprise as she hadn’t heard him come back from the _Cauliflower_. “I think our friend tried to cheat on this girl like he did with you!” Heathyr replied with amusement.

Clyde grumbled and complained he hadn’t done the same to Plutt. He had failed to repair the piece that had been broken during the trip and was particularly pissed against the junk boss. Meanwhile, Plutt took a bunch of bank notes from his pocket and threw them at the girl’s feet with a heavy sigh of defeat. 

“Hey Ma’am!” Clyde called out to the young scavenger; “Can’ ya also ask him ta’ gimme the piece I asked far’? I’m okay ta’ pay, but not tha’ price he asks far, nope!”

The stranger threw a suspicious look at him and Heathyr before giving her attention back to Unkar, whom she asked:“You tried again to swindle tourists I see, right Plutt? I think you could be nice this time and give them the piece they need. For free!”

Plutt groaned in protest, but she quickly added: “You can afford it, you scumbag! I know you force orphans to work for peanuts.” A disgusted look on her face, the young scavenger spit on Plutt’s feet and silently gave Clyde the authorization to come under the thug’s tent and get what he wanted. 

Usually, Clyde Logan was not a man who would take without paying or offering something in exchange, but in this particular case, he considered that Plutt didn’t deserve better. Besides, he was a bit afraid of this brave young woman who had just successfully fought against three strong men, so he didn’t hesitate for too long before following her advice. 

Ignoring the outburst from Unkar who could only passively attend what he considered as a pillage, Clyde swiftly looked around, found the replacement piece he needed for the _Cauliflower_ , and joined Heathyr whom he told with a low voice: “Let’s get off this fuckin’ planet, darlin’.”

Only then, the young scavenger released Plutt from her hold, not before saying with irony: “Bye Unkar, take care of yourself!”, and left him. Plutt yelled a bunch of exotic insults to her and threatened to kill her if she ever came back. But as Heathyr could observe when she turned around to watch the young woman walking away from the tent, she didn’t care a bit.

Heathyr and Clyde walked hastily towards the _Cauliflower_ , still afraid to have Plutt’s goons after them; They were wary of the mysterious young stranger too, even though she hadn’t shown any hostility towards them. 

They happily entered the ship and exchanged a tender kiss, then Clyde went to the back to replace the broken piece as fast as he could with the help of their pet droid BB-8. Heathyr preferred to stay outside, despite the burning sun that made her feel like a grilled steak on a barbecue, to make sure that Unkar’s goons were not after them. But after a few minutes, she was rather relieved to see walking in her direction not some thug, but the young scavenger who had stood up to her enemies with pride and determination. 

Heathyr watched her coming with mixed feelings, as she was both afraid of her and intrigued. However the young woman approached with a surprisingly shy smile on her face. It reminded her of the first impression of her she’d had of the scavenger: a soft and timid woman who didn’t belong in this hostile environment that was Unkar Plutt’s surroundings. Even after she saw the young woman’s skills for fighting and her obvious lack of fear, Heathyr was still positively convinced that her presence on this dreadful planet was out of place. 

It was why, in order to show the stranger that she was welcome despite the previous events, Heathyr smiled back in invitation to approach. An invitation that the girl implicitly accepted when she came close enough to be heard.

“Hey,” the young woman said with a gentle and quiet voice that just like her grin, heavily contrasting with the aggressiveness she had shown a few minutes before. “Are you leaving?” She asked.

“Well, as much as we appreciate this charming planet and its locals, we are expected in another part of the Galaxy, so we have to leave, indeed!” Heathyr replied with a short chuckle. She thought the irony in her tone was obvious, but the young scavenger frowned and asked suspiciously:

“You find this place “charming”? Like, really?”

Only after she saw Heathyr’s large smirk, did she finally understand: “Oh, of course not, you were joking, right?” After watching Heathyr nod, she shook her head and explained:

“These last months I’ve interacted with only a few decent humanoids, so I think I forgot what a joke is…”

Heathyr felt overwhelmed with pity for the lone young woman who seemed eager to make new friends without really knowing how to proceed. _Not surprising_ , _on such a planet!_ Yet she also observed that she was very well-behaved for a girl her age who appeared to live all by herself in the desert.

“Do you… live here?” she couldn’t help but ask, more and more intrigued. She suspected Clyde would not be thrilled to see her having a discussion with the wild scavenger _who would have probably chopped her former employer’s head off if he hadn’t given her what she wanted_ , but she was way too curious! Fortunately, the young woman didn’t look offended with her question, but laughed as if it was the funniest idea she had ever heard.“Oh no, I don’t!” She answered abruptly. “I mean, I spent a couple of days in an old imperial junk that I found half buried in the sand, but I’m just passing.” She paused as if she needed to think, and confirmed that Heathyr’s first instinct was right: “I.. I don’t really live anywhere, I travel a lot. When I need money, I stop somewhere, I find a job and I leave when I’m done. I usually stay longer, but as you can see, my collaboration with Unkar was not very... satisfying!” She added that last bit with a charming giggle.

“Yeah, this guy’s a scum from what I could tell,” Heathyr commented. “Do you have a ship?”

“Oh, I wish I could buy one, but I haven’t collected enough money yet. I hitch rides when I can, and I use public transport when I have no other choice. See, that’s… that’s the reason for my presence here!”

Heathyr repeated this new information in her head- _space hitch rides?!_ _This girl was definitely full of surprises._

“You mean you’d like us to drop you somewhere?” Heathyr asked, though she already knew the answer. Although without being sure herself if she’d agree to or not, or even if Clyde would.

“That’d be nice, yeah…” the young woman admitted with pleading eyes. “Did you manage to repair your ship?” She then asked with interest.

Heathyr shrugged and confessed: “Well, Clyde… My husband is working on it right now. But the way I heard him cursing and swearing a minute ago, I’m not sure it’s really working,” 

“Oh, I may help then. I’m pretty good at mechanics and stuff,” the girl proposed.

Without asking for Heathyr’s permission, she boldly entered the ship before giving her a chance to object. _How would Clyde react to this intrusion?_ _No one but him could touch his baby!_ Heathyr thought and bit her lips as a worried look appeared on her face. 

She approached the _Cauliflower_ but prudently stayed outside, unwilling to be an embarrassing and useless presence for Clyde, who would already be upset enough to see the young stranger show up unexpectedly. The groans she heard coming from the back of the ship quickly confirmed her doubts:

“Tha’ fack’ r’ ya doin’ here?” Clyde was mumbling angrily.

“Hey, hi Sir! I just thought you could need some help, if you’d let me take a look…” the soft voice of the girl quietly replied.

“Ah yeah? n’ what help som’ little gal like ya’ could give?” Clyde rudely asked her. From the sound of it, it was obvious he was containing himself from just telling her off, but the young woman gently insisted:

“Well, I know I look young but it’s kinda my job you know, so… I know this kind of ship. Like, did you plug this wire on the alternator there?” she asked.

To Heathyr’s surprise, instead of new groans from her husband as she first suspected,a big silence followed. BB8’s beeps of approval and the discreet sounds of technical manipulations were heard as he seemed to welcome the girl’s suggestion. 

All of a sudden, the magical sound that the _Cauliflower_ made when it woke up after a long time of rest happily resonated in the cockpit. The lights of a ready-to-go ship flashed on the instrument panel. Even better, Heathyr observed no sound to indicate a problem, an undoubtable sign that nothing would prevent them from leaving the ground of Jakku. 

She felt all the tension and strain that had accumulated in her lower back since they had arrived dissipating at last.

Heathyr felt even better when she saw Clyde and the brave young woman coming back almost arm in arm, laughing and congratulating each other as if they were old buddies. 

“We owe ya one!” Clyde told their new friend with a cheerful tone. “What can we do for ya, Ma’am? We don’t have much in the way of money, but lemme help ya for somethin’ if I can, like ya did for us,” he added with a huge smile. Heathyr smiled to herself silently, as she already knew what the girl wanted.

“Well, it’d be great if I could hitch a ride to the next spaceport,” the girl asked with enthusiasm. “Except if you go to Chandrila? That’s where I go. I want to see a big noisy city,” she added with a youthful giggle.

“Nope Ma’am, we’re expected on Takodana, far from Chandrila,” Clyde replied with a sincererely sorry look. “But I’ll be glad ta’ take ya to the spaceport if it can allow ya to leave this dump,” he immediately added.

A bright smile illuminated the face of the young scavenger, who nodded and sat behind Clyde as he prepared the _Cauliflower_ for a take off. Heathyr activated the automatic door-locking before taking the co-pilot's place beside her husband. She noticed that their guest didn’t have any luggage other than a big duffel bag - _probably containing her clothes_ with her. Afraid to embarrass her with indiscreet questions, Heathyr kept her observation to herself. 

It was only after the ship left Jakku that Clyde interrupted the young woman’s reverie. She seemed lost in the contemplation of the mountains of sand they were hovering over, where no soul seemed to live.

“By tha’ way, I’m Clyde Logan, n’ this gorgeous woman’s my wife, Heathyr. I know we won’t spend much time together, but you might want ta’ know who yer travellin’ with.” Of course Clyde was really the one who wanted to know who his temporary guest was, as Heathyr guessed, but he was too polite to ask. 

Fortunately the young scavenger seemed to get it as she replied with a smirk,“Yeah, and surely you’d want to know my name too… It’s so nice to meet you, Clyde and Heathyr. You’re such a lovely couple! As for me, I’m Rey.”

Clyde’s face slightly reddened and lightened with a childish smile, as it did every time someone commented on the cuteness of their relationship. “What a beautiful name that is,” Heathyr whispered. 

“Thank you,” Rey answered, pleasantly surprised by this unexpected compliment. “So why are you guys going to Takodana? I’ve heard it was one of the greenest planets of the Galaxy, with very fresh air, is it true?” She then asked, genuinely curious about the world she hadn’t discovered yet.

“It’s a very good place to fill your lungs with the purest air there is indeed, but it’s not really the reason why we go there,” Heathyr claimed. “Clyde’s distant relatives opened a circus on Takodana, so once in a while we fly there to visit them. They’re truly fantastic,” she explained with fervour. 

But the young Rey frowned at the word “circus” and sniffed before replying,

“I don’t like circuses,” as she made a disgusted face. “When I was a child, I was brought to a circus with a bunch of other kids. We were all so excited! We wanted to see acrobats, clowns, and beautiful animals.. It turned out to be so disappointing! The performances were cheap, I didn’t laugh a single time. But the worst was…” the young scavenger’s voice broke, as if she was recalling a painful moment for her.“They brought a goat in the ring, it was very pregnant. They forced it to do several ridiculous pirouettes and jumps even though it was obviously very difficult for this poor animal. At some point, the goat fell and as it struggled to get back on its feet; instead of helping it, its master hit it with a stick until it bounced back!” Rey seemed on the verge of tears, Heathyr noticed, but she contained the tears before they flew from her hazel eyes.

She finished sharing the painful memory with a harsh tone: “At the end, the worst was to hear all these people laughing and clapping! I felt like I was the only one that was shocked and upset by what was happening there, and I swore I would never attend a circus show again.”

Heathyr felt sorry for the girl who had had such a bad experience with a live show at such a tender age. It wasn’t long until Clyde defended his family and their work though, as he was used to this kind of criticism. “Ma’am, I promise ya… Ya’d never see that at Skywalker Circus,” he claimed with a deep and reassuring voice. “They treat animals almost better than humano’ds there, n’ they love them as much, for sure! ‘Specially their fathiers; they’ve got, like, forties of them, but they adore ‘em all.”

Heathyr giggled but nodded in agreement. She hadn’t met this branch of Clyde’s family yet, but he had told her so many times about his distant cousins that she felt like she knew them all already. She had also watched rare behind-the-scenes videos of the company; The Skywalkers didn’t like to be filmed that much - Leia Skywalker, especially, was very “old school” and wanted people to see the show with their own eyes. But there were enough to prove that this family really bonded with each of their fathiers as well as the other animals. According to Clyde, it was a bond that went far ahead of a simple attachment between animal and humanoid. It was such a strong connection that at certain times, Clyde said, it was almost visible, palpable even. 

He continued trying to guarantee Rey that the Skywalkers would never hurt an animal, for it would be _like hurting themselves_. He couldn’t seem to explain it any better, but Clyde swore, it was real.  
  
At these words, Rey reacted with interest: “Skywalker Circus? You mean, you’re related to the Skywalkers, as in Luke Skywalker?”

Stupefied, Heathyr and Clyde exchanged a brief glance that expressed the same thing: how could a girl that young could know Luke’s name? Clyde let out a whistle showing he was impressed.

“Yeah, like Luke Skywalker, good guess Ma’am,” Clyde confirmed with a cheerful tone. He and his sister Leia, are my cousin! Well, sorta. See my mum, she’s their mum’s niece, Ryoo Naberrie, so that makes me their little cousin. Or, somethin’ like that. If ya met Leia’s son Ben, ya’d be surprised ‘how much he looks like me!”

Heathyr giggled. “He tells you the truth,” she confirmed. “I haven’t met Ben yet but I’ve seen many pictures, and I’m well prepared to see Clyde’s clone show up in front of me!” she added.

“Yeah, he’s just like me but with abs where I’ve got beer,” Clyde commented with a loud chuckle. “I hope ya won’t forget that if you evar mistake him for me, woman,” he joked. 

Heathyr smirked and let out a brief laugh, yet she didn’t forget to grab his prosthetic hand and hold it tight as a way to show him she could never leave with the wrong man. For she loved her Clyde just the way he was, beer belly included.

“The universe is such an extraordinary place to live in, so full of surprises that get me every day,” Rey mused. Her gaze was still attracted to the unique spaceport that Jakku had, but also because it was the only place where she could find a transport to Chandrila, maybe after several days of waiting. 

Supposing that she was referring to Clyde’s connection with Luke Skywalker, Heathyr dared to ask her:“How come you know Luke’s name? He and Leia created the circus together, but he drifted away and left her the reins of the family business years ago,” she remembered. I reckon he lives more or less like a recluse now.”

“I’ve heard he still gives riding lessons, though?” Rey replied,ignoring Heathyr’s question. 

“Yes he does, but only to a happy few who’ve got talent n’ money,” Clyde groaned. “He used to’ be a nice chap, at least he was when we were all careless kids, but he changed a fair bit,” he added, throwing brief glances back at Rey while still focused on the unique space road. Rey opened her mouth to ask a new question, but Clyde interrupted her because he had an urgent question for her.  
  
“Ma’am, we’re flyin’ over Jakku’s spaceport, or somethin’ that could look like one if they tried…” he told her with an expression of disgusted amazement. What Jakku’s locals called a “spaceport” was no more than three or four buildings hastily made of clay brick, which looked like they had probably not been repaired once since the day they’d been built. Some looked so fragile it was a miracle they didn’t fall down on the heads of the miserable employees who had to work there all day long. Clyde added: “I’d rather not hang around too much if ya don’t mind, so if ya’ve got a favorite place ya’d like to be dropped at, just lemme know.”

Clyde’s request was obviously ironic, for there was really not a large choice of places to land the ship. But to Heathyr’s surprise, Rey seemed to hesitate, as if she was looking for the perfect spot through the window.

After a few seconds of thinking, she opened her mouth again. But it wasn’t to give Clyde the reply he was waiting for. “Actually, suddenly everything feels different…I don’t want to go to Chandrila anymore. I want to come with you and meet the Skywalkers and their fathiers,” she swifty asked with a pleading voice: “Would it still be possible?”

Clyde and Heathyr once again exchanged brief glances. No word was needed for them to realize they had an agreement. Clyde smirked and nodded, while Heathyr replied cheerfully, “Of course it is. We’ll gladly bring you with us to Takodana!” 

Clyde asked Rey, just to be sure: “So, do we leave that junk far’ good? 

Rey smiled and answered with obvious enthusiasm: “Yeah, let’s get the fuck out of here!”

“Welcome onto the _Cauliflower_ , then!” Heathyr cheered.

Mellody smiles joyfully when Heathyr tells her how it was decided that Rey would join her and her dad on their trip to Takodana. 

“Mum, Rey is a badass!” The little girl comments with admiration. 

This makes Heathyr laugh. though she confirms,“Yes sweetheart, absolutely! Rey was a tough cookie when we met her. But even then your father and I knew she had a heart of gold.”

“How’d ya know that?” Her daughter asked.

“I don’t know, something about her… You know, sometimes in your life you’ll have powerful intuitions about certain people; it will tell you that you can trust them even if you don’t know them. The opposite will happen as well; other people will make you feel in your guts that they’re really bad, nasty people. Anyways, when it happens to you, honey, trust your feelings. We did as far as Rey was concerned, and we were right.”

Mellody’s face became very serious as she nodded slowly. Heathyr then asked with a gentle voice, “Shall we continue?”

In response, Mellody nodded again, vigorously this time. 


End file.
